Paragraph 10 Appointment of special advocateI1I2
United Kingdom
The appropriate law officer may appoint a person to represent the interests of a party in any relevant proceedings or appeal proceedings from which the party (and any legal representative of the party) is excluded.
A person appointed under sub-paragraph (1) is referred to in this Schedule as appointed as a “special advocate”.
The “appropriate law officer” is—
in relation to proceedings in England and Wales, the Attorney General;
in relation to proceedings in Scotland, the Advocate General for Scotland;
in relation to proceedings in Northern Ireland, the Advocate General for Northern Ireland.
A person appointed as a special advocate is not responsible to the party to the proceedings whose interests the person is appointed to represent.
A person may be appointed as a special advocate only if—
in the case of an appointment by the Attorney General, the person has a general qualification for the purposes of section 71 of the Courts and Legal Services Act 1990;
in the case of an appointment by the Advocate General for Scotland, the person is an advocate or a solicitor who has rights of audience in the Court of Session or the High Court of Justiciary by virtue of section 25A of the Solicitors (Scotland) Act 1980;
in the case of an appointment by the Advocate General for Northern Ireland, the person is a member of the Bar of Northern Ireland.
Annotations
Commencement
- I1
Sch. 10 para. 10 not in force at Royal Assent, see 100(1)
- I2
Sch. 10 para. 10 in force at 20.12.2023 by S.I. 2023/1272, reg. 2(b)